No. 1 Women's Soccer Holds Off No. 8 Wheelock, 2-1 To Advance To NAC Tournament Semifinals
NO. 1 WOMEN'S SOCCER HOLDS OFF NO.
8 WHEELOCK, 2-1
IN NAC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
CHICOPEE, MA, Oct. 29, 2006 - Elms College senior forward Jen LeDoux (Easthampton, MA) netted her team-leading 14th and 15th goals of the year and the No. 1 Blazers held off a furious late-game rally to earn a thrilling 2-1 win over No. 8 Wheelock College in Sunday's North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Tournament women's soccer quarterfinal game at Leary Field.
With the win, Elms College (14-6) now advances to host No. 4 University of Maine-Farmington (13-6) on Wednesday, November 1. Maine-Farmington punched its ticket into the semifinals with a 1-0 quarterfinal win over No. 5 Maine Maritime Academy on Sunday.
Wheelock, which was making its first appearance in the NAC Tournament in any sport, finished its season 7-11 overall.
LeDoux netted the game's opening goal in the 12th minute after she received a beautiful through-ball from freshman forward Krystyna Gagne (Methuen, MA), split a pair of defenders and beat Wheelock sophomore goalkeeper Alyce Jordan (Weymouth, MA).
LeDoux extended the Blazers' lead to 2-0 in the 51st minute when she intercepted an attempted clear by a Wheelock defender and blasted a shot from the top of the six-yard box past Jordan.
Wheelock freshman midfielder Amanda Siebert (Salem, CT) headed in a gorgeous cross from junior midfielder Ashley Dowd (Auburn, MA) in the 77th minute to cut the Wildcats' deficit to 2-1.
Wheelock continued to press in the game's final 10 minutes and nearly tallied the equalizer, but freshman midfielder Lindsey Lacourse's (Scarborough, ME) last-gasp effort on a bicycle kick was stopped by Elms College sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Donnelly (Florence, MA) as time expired.
Jordan finished with seven stops for the Wildcats in the loss, while Donnelly recorded four saves.